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Our Guiding Principle:Be safe, ethical and responsible in all business activities worldwide.Our Goal:Achieve an injury-free workplace.

A CORE VALUE - THE CULTURE OF SAFETY AT FMC

The safety of employees, customers, business partners and the public is one of our most important core values.

We are determined to achieve an injury-free workplace. We know it will take time, effective systems, a steady focus and the total commitment of every employee to make it happen. As an intermediate target, we will work to at least halve our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) by 2015 compared to 2011. Although this goal is aggressive, particularly as FMC continues to expand worldwide, it is clear that our employees continue to embrace this important challenge

FMC uses five major global challenges to prioritize our sustainability efforts and keep us focused on developing solutions for the future.

Read about five Guiding Principles and related Goals for sustainability at FMC

Experience the complete 2013 Sustainability Report

A Campaign to TH!NK. SAFE.

At FMC, we believe safety is a value that can only be real when it becomes a personal value, an idea reflected in our new safety name and logo. TH!NK. SAFE. connects every FMC employee and relates the practice of safety to manufacturing and non-manufacturing operations.

The “TH!NK. SAFE.” campaign is helping to drive our safety progress. This program works to create a culture in which employees raise their safety consciousness in all areas of their lives – at work, at home and on the road.

OUR EVERYDAY MANIFESTO

The program is grounded in a “safety manifesto” that drives employees to be aware of their environment and alert to hazards and behaviors that may affect their own and others’ safety.

In 2013 we created a series of videos focused on embedding safe practices throughout our company. See our publications page for more videos.

Click on images above to view video

Reviewing our safety performance

All employees receive a weekly EHS newsletter that comes directly from the vice president of operations. This newsletter includes performance updates as well as tips and advice regarding both safety and environmental awareness.

Every quarter our sites participate in a global safety conference call to share safety lessons learned across the company. Site leaders discuss injuries, near misses, and other experiences that can help provide insight into measures that can be taken to prevent similar occurrences elsewhere. The ultimate goal is to learn from one another’s experiences and improve our collective safety awareness and performance.

When an incident occurs, a Learning Review is conducted with senior management after the incident investigation is completed. Facts about the incident, including root causes, contributing causes and key corrective actions, are discussed and put together in a form that can be shared with all employees.

EMERGENCY PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS

FMC has developed and launched an Incident Management Guide, a flexible resource for all sites worldwide to coordinate support for ground teams in the event of an emergency or other unusual situation. The plan applies to a range of potential incidents or crises. Read more in the 2013 sustainability report.

Safety Results

With strong senior management commitment and employee involvement safety vigilance is a constant, and our effort is yielding results. Our 2013 safety results are the best in our history with a 35 percent reduction in injuries from 2012.

Based on focus group and survey results we found that our emphasis on safety is leading to behavioral changes. People are more careful, deliberate and attentive to the details that can make a difference in avoiding an injury. This safety focus contributed to a reduction in injuries and places us well on our path towards our 2015 goal of a Total Recordable Incidence Rate (TRIR) less than 0.37.

RESPONSIBLE CARE®

FMC Corporation is a member of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and a proud participant in the Responsible Care® program – the industry’s premier voluntary environmental, health, safety and security initiative. Like all participating companies, FMC has made a CEO-level commitment to uphold the program’s elements and guiding principles. One of the most far-reaching elements of Responsible Care is product stewardship. Companies also are committed to open and transparent reporting, and submit annual data on their progress. This information is made publicly available on the ACC website.

PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP

Our three businesses (Agricultural Solutions, Health & Nutrition and Minerals) incorporate appropriate health, safety, security and environmental factors into their product lifecycles. Our holistic approach starts with design and development and extends through manufacturing, distribution, storage, end use, and final recycle or disposal. Along the way, those who handle the product are provided with information and training on hazards and safe handling practices.

Each business has an employee responsible for product stewardship who is charged with assessing and documenting the hazards and risks associated with each product. This formal governance process helps us prioritize products for risk management and provides the appropriate level of information and outreach.

FMC uses a variety of tools to help ensure that safety information and knowledge reach those who need it, starting with required documentation such as the Safety Data Sheet and product label.

Depending on the degree of hazard and potential for exposure, FMC also provides a range of information, including some of the items below:

Customer education initiatives

Technical brochures and risk information

Safe handling guidelines and recommendations for the use of protective equipment

Training in safe handling practices

Technical support

Order screening to ensure customer qualification

Tracking of customer issues and incidents to identify areas for improvement

On-site customer visits

Training our Customers on Safe Use

As with all FMC businesses, Agricultural Solutions incorporates health, safety, security and environmental considerations into every stage of a product’s life cycle. In our labeling, safety data sheets, product education and other technical assistance, FMC provides the information farmers need to use our products safely. FMC technical experts conduct training meetings with distributors, farmers and applicators on the safe and responsible use of our products. We communicate with our distributors and customers about the latest information on our products, their intended uses, legal requirements, and the consequences of misuse.

Although we take many precautions and many thousands of farmers around the world use our products without incident, occasionally we learn of the misuse of products, sometimes with serious results.

CASE STUDY: OUR STAND AGAINST PRODUCT MISUSE

In Kenya, 2008, we received reports that local cattle herders were using Furadan to kill lions that were feeding on their livestock – a serious and unlawful use of the product. We conferred with our distributor and other interested parties, including NGOs, and although there was a lack of direct evidence that our Furadan product was involved, we took no chances and stopped exporting the product into Kenya.

SAFETY IS SHARED ACROSS OUR GLOBAL ENTERPRISE

Green River Mine Safety Team

We are constantly are constantly investing time, money and resources in safety training, preparing for multiple scenarios and learning how to work most effectively with local emergency responders. One example of this preparedness is the mine rescue team at FMC's Green River, Wyoming, mine and processing plant.

Seeking independent validation of their readiness, the Green River responders participate in national competitions and consistently rank in the top echelon, having won national and first place awards. They train throughout the year to prepare for mine emergency response, with the hope that they never need to use it. Our team also networks with local and regional mine rescue teams to help keep safety at the forefront of community priorities.

Contracting with Safety in Mind

FMC’s Agricultural Solutions obtains many of the active ingredients it uses in product formulations from external suppliers. Many of these suppliers are located in rapidly developing economies. Contract manufacturing these materials helps FMC keep our products affordable for farmers around the world.

FMC realizes that for the sustainable manufacture of these chemicals, the utmost attention must be paid to the safety and environmental performance of our suppliers’ facilities. We do this by training our suppliers to meet rigorous FMC operational and safety standards including audit procedures and reporting requirements.

When selecting suppliers, we take a collaborative approach so that FMC requirements are met. For key suppliers, teams of FMC scientists, engineers, supply chain specialists, managers and others work with the manufacturer in both the design and operation of their processes.

This hands-on approach to performance management has been very successful in continually improving safety, environmental, business and other standards for FMC suppliers. For example, one Chinese supplier that we have worked with for over a decade has developed a reputation as a top performer. This reputation has attracted business from other global corporations, and sets new competitive expectations for the supplier’s peers.